Slain Washington Parish deputy to be honored

Nearly a half century after Washington Parish sheriff's Deputy O'Neal Moore was ambushed and murdered in Varnado, the parish's first African-American deputy will finally be honored this May.

The memorial began as a tribute to Moore, killed 48 years ago -- a case that was never solved.

"I'm still looking forward to them finding out who did it," said Moore's widow Maevella.

The night her husband was murdered is never more than a memory away. Deputies Moore and Creed Rogers were ambushed on June 2, 1965. Rogers survived, Moore did not -- and the person responsible has never been found.

"I try not to just dwell on that. That makes you an evil and mad person to dwell on stuff like that," said his widow.

"Listen, we cannot correct what happened in the past, but we can sure remember it and impress upon our people that we will never let it happen again," said Sheriff Randy Seal.

Seal is keeping a promise to create a memorial to Moore. Southeastern Louisiana University sculptor Zach Slough is now creating the bust of Moore that will go into the memorial.

But the memorial will honor all Washington Parish deputies killed in the line of duty -- seven in all, dating back to 1899.

"It's good for us to do it for all the families. That no one is neglected, that we have all the families involved," said Deputy Chief Olander Smith with the Smith/Washington Sheriff's Office.

"It's the right thing to do and I've always been taught do the right thing and everything else will fall in line," said Seal.

"He was a standup guy. He wasn't a mean person. He just believed in doing his work," said Moore of her husband.

The memorial will be housed in the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office in Franklinton and will be unveiled and dedicated in May.

For more information on how you can support the Fallen Heroes Memorial, you are asked to contact:

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